Isaiah's Finds of the Week

I believe it’s just time and unforeseen occurrence for us. Sometimes when we’re so focused on doing something important that when something minor comes up - you do it to get it out of the way and suddenly you’ve spent more time doing that thing than necessary- and then you forget what’s most important. It’s happened to me and it’s unfortunate however I guess it’s just human nature. I also believe,  going into human nature - sometimes we just tire out and can’t even think straight.

Jazz is the quintessential essence of the American music we hear today. Jazz has influenced so many other genres as well as it being a fusion of other genres of African folk music. Many Chicano groups like Thee Midniters and The Sunglows took inspiration from these jazz artists. Willie Bobo, Miles Davis and others have all created a sound even Barrio Kids of the 60’s enjoyed. I appreciate jazz as it shaped Soul and Rock ‘N Roll music. Sidewinder by The Sunglows is a staight our Jazz hybrid. Also Mr. C.C by Jim Pipkins & The Boss Five - Jazz truly is a legendary genre and definitely American made with different roots.

This Is My Story b/w More Peanuts (La Vienteunica) The Valentines - San Antonio, TX 1965/66 King Bee K-103     For about 3-4 years, "This Is My Story" by The Valentines was at the TOP of my want list. I searched high and low and just a week and a half ago I was able to get my very own copy of this EXTREMELY RARE record! Why the caps??? Because, the rarity of this is RIDICULOUS. Why is it so rare? Well first, let's learn a bit about this record.      FIRST OF ALL!!!! This is NOT Richard Barrett's group from NYC who were signed to Rama records.     Released around the year 1965/66, this record is virtually unknown to most people. Like myself when I first heard the song, many people don't even know it exists as a vinyl record! From the get-go, I thought to myself: "It must be an unreleased acetate!" The way the recording of the song sounded was much like that of a deteriorating acetate record. An acetate is a pre-production reco...

What is the theme of  “The Pedestrian”? - The theme of “The Pedestrian” is monotone and basically tells us to not rely solely on technology to run our lives. It reminds me of Camazotz in A Wrinkle In Time.  On Camazotz, everyone is the same; everyone does everything in synchronization and every citizen is controlled by IT. Likewiese; in the Pedestrian it seems that everyone is being controlled by their viewing screens. It’s as if these screens are like IT and they control the people of the year 2053. I think Bradbury was trying to say that people don’t really realize it, but they’re letting people get sucked into these screens and they’re like robots. Our phones basically tell us what to do, there is no human reliance - and like me with music; no one gets together for it anymore. Ray Bradbury definitely made a point and a damn good prediction of our time, I feel like we need to seriously “Regress” and take time to say hi with one another in person - to go hang out outside and...

The Ambience (You'll see why this is here if you read...)     I love the way Ray describes the ambience in this story. It reminds me of myself when he said that it reminded him of being in the desert. Often times late at night, when I listen to my music; I feel the same way. I hear songs with a certain sound... and suddenly I close my eyes and I'm beneath the star lit desert. I'm outside leaning against my '48 Fleetline in the desert looking at the stars, and the shooting stars passing by. Theres a seemingly never ending road that eventually leads to a sprawling and bustling city, but I'm so happy in the desert. It's as if my spirit is just roaming the land all the while; while listening to this song that for some reason PUTS me in that mood and PUTS me there. It's odd i'll tell you. I see myself driving on this Desert road at night, nothing scary; it's all just so beautiful. It's the dream I always have and I know some day ... I r...

King Bee K-103 Going way back to the second day of school, my very first post to this blog was talking about a Soulful Chicano Group Harmony 45 by a group known as “The Valentines.” No, this is not Richard Barrett’s group on Rama, this is a group of Chicanos out of San Antonio. Needless to say, I’ve FINALLY after SOOOO SOOO long found my own copy! This copy had sat in storage for years and looks to be never played. I will upload the audio soon; here is what I first wrote about the record.   " Pictured above is a very rare and hard to find piece of Chicano Soul history. Unknown to most collectors, this record is a very beautiful cover of the 1955 hit single by  Gene & Eunice . This single comes from San Antonio, TX - presumably from around 1962. The group sounds like a 3 part harmony backed by a strong Wind Section (comprised of Saxophones), and a marimba in the background. As a collector of rare Vocal Group Harmony, this single is at the top of my list of...

Gatsby’s desire for success is somewhat of a representation of the American Dream: peace, love and prosperity. However, Gatsby’s desire for success also displays the perseverance for a personal sense of honor. Jay Gatsby is definitely a symbolization of American culture and he continues to show this throughout the entire novel. The American dream focuses on the central ideas of peace, love and prosperity. Jay is always throwing lavish, expensive parties with hundreds of people he does not even know. This certainly shows that Gatsby portrays an image of success - his prosperity. This display of lavish parties and his seemingly careless spending habits also reflect much of the American culture we see day to day. Americans will spend money on anything expensive just to make themselves look successful, to make it look like something they're not. Jay continues to buy irrelevant material possessions and throws expensive parties only to make him seem like something ...